


The Canonization Of Matt Miller

by Ten



Category: Saints Row
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-02-22
Packaged: 2018-01-13 10:05:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1222243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ten/pseuds/Ten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"So everything I did for the Saints until now doesn't matter?"</i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i>"It matters. But so do rules. And the rules are, if you want to run with us, you gotta be canonized."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Canonization Of Matt Miller

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Meredith White universe, not canon, so you won't see a beaten up Matt Miller. Sorry about that ;)

"Matt." 

The hacker nearly jumps out of his skin. He had been so focused on his current project (which may or may not involve finding out if any of the Nyte Blayde actors were still alive) he hadn't heard the Boss come in. Or come close enough to put a hand on his shoulder. 

Yet here he is, grinning down at the cybergod. 

"Uh... hey." Matt tries not to look nervous, he really does. 

Meredith mercifully pulls his hand away. "You've been with us a while, Matt, and things have been kinda fucked up, so I apologize that this is coming late."

Matt's expression makes clear he has no bloody clue what the Boss means. 

Mer doesn't seem to care. "But here we go! I give you four hours. In four hours, bring me something that makes the Saints better." He gives a little wave. "And have a good explanation why it does." Then he saunters away.

Matt stares at the disappearing backside, mouth moving for a moment before words come out. "Wha?" 

"You're being canonized, kid." Johnny has been up on the walkway for a few hours, cleaning weapons, so at least this time Matt isn't surprised about his presence. He is about his words though. 

"I... what? I thought-"

"That's what it is since he took over. We don't do the whole beating up thing anymore. Well, not for canonization, that is."

Matt frowns. "But the Saints used to have hundreds of members."

"Well, with the normal homies, they'd get to do it in groups. But you're a lieutenant. You do it yourself."

The hacker gives Johnny a doubtful look. "That can't be it. It's too easy. I could come up with something in my sleep in four seconds!"

"Oh really." Johnny gives him an unnerving smile. "Are the Saints that weak that it would take you only the minimum effort to improve them?"

Matt immediately tenses up again. "What? No! That's not what I meant, I just meant-" And then it clicks. "... oh. I get it."

"If you get it, get to work kid. Your time's running."

Matt nods and turns back to the screen for a moment. Seems like operation 'Nyte Blayde In Spayce' has to wait. He closes the file, then raises his voice again. "Am I allowed to get help?"

"With your project? Not directly, no. But you can ask broad questions to people of your choice, if you need to. _Broad, general_ questions."

"Alright." The hacker grabs his tablet and opens a new file to start taking notes.

* * *

Pierce is brainstorming ideas for new Saints Flow flavours when Matt pokes his head into the kitchen. "Pierce? Do you have a moment?"

"Yeah Matt, sure. What's up?"

Matt meanders in, tablet in hand. "I was just wondering... you've been with the Saints a long time, right?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Pierce leans back in his chair.

"I was wondering, since you spent so much time with the Boss, do you know what the point of it all is? I mean the Saints." Matt sits down at the kitchen table. "What's their goal?" The hacker pauses. "What's his goal? His endgame? I thought it was just the same old 'get rich, rule the streets', but we haven't exactly been on any streets in a long time."

Pierce looks at him with raised eyebrows at first, then with the pleased smugness of someone who realizes his opinion is valued. "Getting rich is just means to an end for him, you know. And he doesn't need any streets. He just wants to rule."

"Rule what?"

"Everything." Pierce makes a vague all-encompassing hand gesture.

Matt snorts, he can't help it. "That's impossible."

"Really? Look at where we are right now. We're the head of an intergalactic empire, I'd say we're gettin' pretty close to everything."

"Well okay." Matt concedes. "So you'd say he has what he wants?"

"Nah, not yet. There's plenty left to control."

The hacker frowns. "But why? What's the point in just... ruling."

Pierce shrugs, unconcerned. "Beats me."

Matt sighs and leaves it at that.

* * *

Shaundi is next on his list. Matt feels much less confident around her, but she's the logical choice. He finds her in the gym, on a treadmill. "Uh... is it a bad time?" Matt tries to keep his eyes up, he's not a teenager anymore, damnit. 

"Depends on for what." She sounds a lot less breathless than he expected.

"Just a question or two."

"Is this about your canonization?"

Matt blinks. "You know?"

"Yes, of course, we all do."

"Oh." Yeah, that doesn't help him relax, at all. But she hasn't sent him off either, so Matt soldiers on. "Well, I was just wondering what you think about the Boss' motivation."

"Motivation for...?"

"For doing what he does? As the Boss. President. Emperor. The leader."

Shaundi shrugs. "I don't know what you expect, but there is no big secret to it. He just wants to be in charge."

"In charge of..." Matt dreads her answer.

"Everything."

Oh yeah, there it is again. Matt manages not to roll his eyes (because that might ruin any chances at answers he has) and instead changes direction. "And the Saints?"

"We're here to help him achieve that, of course." Shaundi looks at him, not skipping a step. "No one can rule an empire alone."

It just keeps bothering Matt. "But why does he want to rule everything?"

"You tell me," she gives him a sharp look, " _Cybergod_."

"... ah." Matt says and opts to flee.

* * *

He spends one of his four hours thinking about what Shaundi and Pierce told him, and then finds himself with Johnny again. Something has been gnawing at him. "Why is this my canonization?" he asks, trying his best not to waver as Johnny crosses his arms and looks him up and down.

"What, you think you don't need it?"

"I think I don't need it in order to do something useful." Matt squares his jaw. "I do anything I can to help the Saints because I can and because I want to."

"Really. Your motivation isn't that you are afraid we'll blow you out the airlock if you don't deliver?"

Matt wavers after all, but only a bit. "Well, I used to worry about that. And maybe a little about being beaten up, again. But it's not going to happen, right? If I fail this."

"If you fail this, we'll probably just leave you on some planet we're passing."

The hacker swallows. "So everything I did for the Saints until now doesn't matter?"

"It matters. But so do rules. And the rules are, if you want to run with us, you gotta be canonized." Johnny's tone leaves no space for rebuttal. He tilts his head. "Is that really what you wanted to know?"

Matt takes a breath, and grips his tablet tighter. "Not really," he says after a pause. "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the Boss before he became, well, the Boss."

For some reason, Johnny doesn't even blink. "Not much. Not my business to tell, kid."

"Oh." Matt can't hide the disappointment in his voice. 

"Just that he was a lot less flashy. Quieter, too." Johnny returns to sharpening one of his knives. "Definitely more tense. That's all you get, kid."

"Thanks." Matt nods slowly, then straightens. "Thanks." he repeats, and turns to start typing rapidly on his tablet.

* * *

"Why did Matt get four hours and I just got two?" Kinzie is pouting. 

Meredith smiles at her. "Because your self-confidence is rock solid, Kinzie. You knew I was either gonna like your idea, or you'd walk, no looking back. The kid is gonna spend half of the time worrying whether whatever he's doing is good enough."

"Are you kidding? His ego could fill the database of the entire Zin fleet!"

"Ego and confidence isn't always the same, you know that." Mer hands her her pants. "He wants to prove himself. You don't give a fuck about that."

"I still think it's a little unfair."

"That I expected you to do just as good in two hours as he will in four?"

Kinzie pauses. "Well, when you put it that way..." She rolls her eyes at him, but she's smiling. "Flatterer."

Mer's grin is smug. "Also, two hours ago, I would've been unable to accept his results."

The ex-agent smirks at that and leans down to kiss a ropemark on his arm. "Alright, I'll accept it."

"Oh god, we really need doors that don't open on their own!" Matt cries out and turns around in the doorway, a hand over his eyes.

"Damnit Matt, the 'do not disturb' sign is activated!" Kinzie frantically worms into her sweater.

"What? Oh. I was, uh, distracted."

Meredith is grinning from ear to ear. "You're also supposed to announce yourself over the com before coming here, remember?"

"Ah. Yeah. Um. Sorry. I was so focused on this..." The hacker turns a little, peeking between his fingers. "Is it safe?"

"If by safe, you mean safe for your brat eyes, yes. I can't guarantee the rest of your bodyparts will be though." Kinzie shakes a fist at him. 

"I'm sorry, okay? I saw nothing!"

Kinzie snorts. "Right. Nothing you didn't already see while snooping around my private life you mean."

"Kinzie-"

"Let it go, you two." Meredith interrupts. "I believe Matt's here to present me something."

"Ah. Yes. My project. Well. My idea for one."

"You mean it's not finished?" Mer raises an eyebrow.

The kid (not a kid) takes a deep breath. "No, it's not. I... I need Kinzie's help for that."

Kinzie nearly drops her boot. "What?"

"You were supposed to do it yourself, Matt."

"It's my idea, and I laid it all out! Technically, I could execute it on my own. It'll just take a lot of work and time to complete. But I believe," Matt takes in another deep breath. "I know that when we both work on it, it'll more than double the success rate for take-over of any enemy fleet we currently know of." He hands Kinzie his tablet.

She takes it with narrowed eyes, and gives the notes he wrote a cursory glance, then a slightly less cursory perusal. "... well, I hate to admit it, but he might be right. We'll need some extra computing power, and maybe a-"

"Kinzie." The Boss has that impatient tone. "Just tell me what it is so I can understand it?"

"It's a control program." Matt supplies readily.

Kinzie nods. "If this works out right, it would allow us to take over most Alien computing systems before they can lift a finger. Claw, tentacle, whatever. Barring unconventional things like sentient bio-electronics or the likes..."

"That's what we do, right?" Matt gives the Boss a hopeful look. "We take over. So you can shape the world like you want it to be."

"The worlds, Matt. The worlds." Meredith grins at his youngest Saint Lieutenant. "And yes, that's what we do."

**Author's Note:**

> Now Beta'd by EL, thank you :)


End file.
